Ranieri slates billionaire owner

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Chelsea Claudio Ranieri has launched a strong attack on the club's owner Roman Abramovich, saying his boss knows nothing about football and wanted to sack him from the moment he took control at Stamford Bridge.

In an interview in Spanish sports daily Marca, the 52-year-old Italian said Abramovich had wanted to appoint England manager Sven Goran Eriksson.

"Ever since he arrived at the club, Abramovich wanted Eriksson," Ranieri told Marca. "From the very start. They even met in the summer.

"But Eriksson said he couldn't leave the England team and so the next day Abramovich met me and told me: 'OK, you've done a good job these last few years and you are going to carry on."'

Chelsea plays Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final later tonight. Ranieri said even victory in the Champions League would not persuade the club to keep him on.

"Look, I already have the Abramovich sword embedded in me," he said.

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"I'm convinced that even if I win the Champions League I will be sacked." Marca added in the interview carried out on April 8.

Ranieri said Abramovich, who took over in July, had little understanding of the work he had done the previous season when he steered Chelsea to fourth place in the premier league.

"Abramovich knows nothing about football," said Ranieri.

"That's the real shame. If he had understood what my side had achieved that season he would have valued me more highly. We did it all without any money."

Abramovich spent some STG110 million ($A267.18 million) on new players this season, but Ranieri said the Russian tycoon had no appreciation of how difficult it would be to make the team gel.

"It was a very tough job to sign so many players and get them to play together. Abramovich didn't realise that. He thought I'll sign that one and that one and then we will win."